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Naval officer shot in head onboard Barrow-built sub - inquest reopens

Published at 15:54, Wednesday, 02 January 2013

A ROYAL Navy officer was shot in the head as he attempted to tack his killer onboard a Barrow-build nuclear submarine.

Lieutenant Commander Ian Molyneux would have fallen unconscious immediately after he suffered the gunshot wound in the incident on HMS Astute while it was docked at Southampton, Hampshire, on April 8 2011, the inquest heard.

Able seaman Ryan Donovan, 23, was jailed for life to serve a minimum of 25 years after pleading guilty at Winchester Crown Court to the murder of Lt Cdr Molyneux.

The inquest, which resumed at Southampton today, heard that Lt Cdr Molyneux, 36, suffered a single gunshot wound to the top of his head, six inches above his right ear hole.

Home Office pathologist Dr Basil Purdue said: "It would have caused instantaneous unconsciousness followed very, very shortly by death.